


Once there was a little bee

by Salambo06 (orphan_account)



Series: Fic Giveaway [7]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gifts, Holidays, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Parentlock, Sherlock's Birthday, fluff all over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8236792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Salambo06
Summary: Sherlock, John and their daughter are on holidays for Sherlock's birthday. Of course, Sherlock cannot wait to find you what his gift is!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rominatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rominatrix/gifts).



> Hi everyone!
> 
> So this is the fourth of ten fics for my latest Fic Giveaway, and this one is for Romina who requested Sherlock and John going on holiday with their daughter, and Sherlock being shy about his birthday.  
> Thank you so much for this prompt, and I hope you'll like it :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Pauline
> 
> Thank you to [Heather](http://snogbox1.tumblr.com/) for her job as a beta !  
> [My Tumblr](http://johnlockfulfillment.tumblr.com/)  
> 

“Breakfast’s ready!”

Sherlock groaned, rolling under the sheet and burying his head in the pillow. They had stayed out late last night, walking on the beach and letting Olivia play with the shells she had found here and there. Of course, she had gone to bed early, but John had had other plans in mind for the rest of the night and Sherlock could still feel him deep inside this morning. Not that he was complaining, obviously.

“Sherlock!” John called, his voice closer. Sherlock waited until he opened the door and walked to the bed before opening his eyes. “Morning, love,” John smiled, leaning down to kiss his temple.

“I can’t move,” Sherlock mumbled.

John laughed, pushing the sheet away, “It’s your fault,” he said, fingers brushing down his naked back, “You look way too sexy in your swimming trunks.”

Sherlock laughed, rolling onto his back and stretching slowly, not quite missing the way John’s eyes travelled all over his body. 

“Ok, time to go,” he said, “Olivia is too young to witness her fathers’ shagging.”

Sherlock frowned, “I’m pretty sure there isn’t an appropriate age for that.”

John burst into laughter, leaning down until he could kiss him for rather long seconds, “Get up and dressed, now.”

Sherlock hummed, closing his eyes, “Yes, yes.”

“Oh and by the way,” John sad before leaving the room, “Happy birthday.”

Sherlock’s eyes snapped back open, remembering just now what day it was. They had planned this holiday for months now and John had even winked at him, saying how lucky Sherlock would be, celebrating his birthday by the beach. _His birthday_. How could he have forgotten when he had spent the past two weeks trying to figure out what John and Olivia had prepared for him.

“Sherlock,” John called again, “Don’t make me come get you!”

“Dad, hurry there is a surprise for you!”

Sherlock felt his smile widen, Olivia’s voice much closer than it should be, and he got up quickly. He put on some pants and a shirt before walking out of the room slowly, “I’m coming.”

“Boooooo!” Olivia screamed as she grabbed his leg, holding on tightly as she laughed.

Sherlock immediately took her in his arms, spinning her around before kissing her cheeks over and over again, “Trying to scare me, little bee?”

“Papa said I could,” she replied, placing her two small hands on his cheeks and staring at him. “Happy birthday Daddy!”

Sherlock hugged her tightly, making her squirm and laugh again, “Thank you, little bee.”

“Breakfast is getting cold,” John called from the kitchen.

“Should we go?” Sherlock asked, setting Olivia down again and she stared up at him with shining eyes.

“You know what, Daddy?” She asked as she followed him, “Papa said that soon it will be my birthday too!”

“He’s right, in March,” Sherlock replied with a smile, the smell of toast and bacon filling the house.

“Is that tomorrow?” Olivia asked, sounding way too serious and Sherlock brushed her hair softly.

“No, love, it’s in two months,” he explained, knowing too well how she still struggled with the concept of time. “You’ll have to wait a little more.”

“But I will have presents, yes?”

“I’m certain your Papa has bought several already,” Sherlock whispered, “but don’t tell him I told you!”

Olivia was still laughing, obviously biting her tongue about what he had just told her, and Sherlock counted three, two, one-

“Daddy told me you bought me presents!”

“Daddy did what, now?” John asked, shaking his head as he put Olivia in her chair.

Sherlock only rolled his eyes before winking at Olivia, “Nothing.” He went to John, stealing another kiss before sitting down next to him. “I believe you just made breakfast for the next three days, John.”

John poked him in his side, “Just eat,” he smiled, nodding toward Olivia, “Your daughter doesn’t complain, follow her example.”

Olivia looked over at them, a piece of toast still half in her mouth and jam already all over her fingers. She quickly went back to eating, her small hands grabbing everything within her reach and putting it on her plate. Sherlock, unable to repress a smile, wiped the jam off her nose before saying, “Careful, little bee.”

Olivia nodded eagerly, “Yes, Daddy.”

She then proceeded to ignore them both entirely in favor of the orange juice in her glass, and Sherlock turned to face John again, “Can I have my gift now?”

John put down his own glass, repressing a laugh as he swallowed, “Oh no, you’re not having me this time.”

Sherlock slid one hand up John’s thigh under the table, “Really?”

John trapped his hand, leaning closer before whispering against his lips, “Yes. Really.” He kissed him quickly before standing up and looking for a wet flannel to clean up Olivia’s face. “Come on, sweetheart, you’ve eaten enough, time to go dress up!”

“We’re going to the beach again, Papa?”

“We’re doing whatever your Dad wants, it his birthday after all,” John replied, picking her up and setting her down on the floor.

Olivia walked directly over to him, and Sherlock pushed his chair back so he could take her on his lap, “Daddy, can we go to the beach again? We need to find our sand castle!”

“Olivia, I explained to you yesterday, the sea has probably washed the castle away during the night. Remember?”

Olivia frowned, remained silent for long seconds before glancing at John and then to him again, “But we can build a new one?”

“Of course we can, little bee,” Sherlock replied with a smile, Olivia’s entire face lighting up. “Now off you go, Papa is waiting.”

Olivia ran off, screaming John’s name all the way to her bedroom and even then, Sherlock could still hear her explain to John that their castle was gone because the sea had taken it. He listened for a long moment, staring at the food on the table and wondering if he would ever get used to feeling this happy.

“Sherlock, come tell your daughter the sea did not take all the sand during the night,” John called and Sherlock let out a small laugh before getting up.

“Coming!”

It took them exactly forty-seven minutes to get ready, and in complete honesty, Sherlock was impressed. It usually took twenty minutes for Olivia to get dressed alone, but she had this morning managed to put on her swimming suit and dress in half the time, and spent the rest running in and out the house making sure the sand was still here. John had once again sighed as he congratulated himself for choosing a beach house for the holiday and Sherlock had kept a careful eye on their daughter as he got dressed.

He hadn’t been sure about this holiday when John had first brought up the idea. The three of them hadn’t left Baker Street since Olivia and John had moved back in, and it still made Sherlock’s heart pound faster in his chest every time he thought about all that could go wrong. They didn’t have any connections here, didn’t know the city at all, and anything, _anything,_ could happen.

“You’re getting lost in there again,” John said, making Sherlock jump.

“Sorry, I was just-”

“I know,” John cut him off, kissing the corner of his lips, “Everything’s fine.”

Sherlock hummed, kissing him one more time, before letting John leave the room. He was right. Everything was fine. It had been fine for years now.

“Daddy, we’re going!” Sherlock heard quick footsteps and then the door opening, “Daddy, hurry up!”

“Don’t worry, Olivia, the sand is still there,” Sherlock said with a smile, grabbing his phone and a notebook before heading out with her.

“I know, Daddy,” she said with a sigh and Sherlock thought once again that she was really growing up too fast. “But Papa said we can have ice cream!”

“I said for lunch, Olivia,” John corrected her once they were all outside, Sherlock locking the door behind him. “We just ate breakfast, sweetheart.”

“But you said we could,” Olivia replied, looking as if her entire world had just ended.

“Little bee,” Sherlock called, picking up their bag for the beach, “I think Papa would agree that when we are done with our new sand castle, it would almost be time for lunch.” Olivia glanced at John who nodded before looking back at him. “Should we do that, then?”

“Ok, Daddy,” she smiled, taking his hand and practically dragging him toward the beach.

They took the same spot as yesterday, the beach being almost empty at this period of the year, and John applied sunscreen all over Olivia before letting her run to the sea with her pail. “Now you,” he said with a smile, forcing Sherlock to sit down before applying the cream all over his back. “You’re already tanned,” John said with a smile, “I told you you would have burned without cream yesterday.”

Sherlock shook his head, keeping an eye on Olivia as she walked back towards them, carrying with her full pail with difficulty, “Yes, doctor.”

John nudged his shoulder, laughing before handing him the cream, “Please?”

Sherlock took fully advantage of the situation, making sure his hands were rubbing at all the right places and enjoying the soft sounds escaping John’s mouth. “Just wait for tonight,” John said as soon as Sherlock was finished, pulling him down for a deep kiss before they were interrupted by Olivia’s voice.

“Papa, can you help me?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” John hurried to reply, standing up and joining Olivia just  few meters away. She was already digging in the sand, and Sherlock watched as John kneeled next to her and began to form their castle walls.

Sherlock wasn’t sure how long he watched them, but soon he was getting lost in memories, his vision blurry as the rooms of his Mind Palace began to spring up around him. He purposely ignored some of the doors, walking directly to the one he cared about today. His first birthday with Olivia in their home. She had been barely ten months old at that time, a little warm and smiling thing in his arms, and John had kissed him for the first time later that day. He had taken Olivia up to sleep and had walked straight toward him once he was back, cuping Sherlock’s face without a word and kissing the breath out of him. If Sherlock focused long enough, he could still feel John’s lips against his own, hear the baby monitor buzzing next to them and taste the lemon cake on John’s tongue. It was all there, safe and cherished.

His second birthday with Olivia had almost went unnoticed. At almost two years old, Olivia had decided she would spend the day crying over absolutely nothing, driving them both crazy. John had worried most of the day something was wrong while Sherlock had spent every minute going over his Mind Palace and research to find a possible reason for all this. In the end, Mrs. Hudson had come up in the middle of the afternoon, brought Olivia back down with her for a while and assured them they weren’t doing anything but passing this crying baby their own stress. With the cries muffled, and after a moment, over, Sherlock and John had fallen onto their bed and napped for the next two and a half hours. It was only when Mrs. Hudson had come back up with a cake that they had remembered about Sherlock’s birthday, and then Olivia had gone back to smiling and mumbling incoherent sounds for the entire evening.

His third birthday with Olivia had taken place at his parent’s house, and Sherlock could honestly say he had never seen them happier. They had spent the entire day fussing over Olivia, following her all around the house and listening to each and every one of her stories. At almost three years old, Olivia had mastered the art of talking, and in particular, the art of telling stories (something she had learned with her Papa), and she could invent worlds and characters by the minute. Mummy had been more than impressed, and Sherlock had felt pride invade him every time he caught John’s loving eyes on their daughter. This was his family.

“Hey, love, you’ve gone quiet.”

Sherlock’s Mind Palace faded away as he looked up to John standing in front of him, “Sorry.”

John kneeled down, both hands coming to rest on his forearms, “You’re ok?”

Sherlock nodded, “Yes. I was just thinking.”

John smiled, brushing their lips together, “Trying to figure out your gift?”

Sherlock shook his head, “Thinking about the two of you.”

John kissed him again, and once more after that, before standing up and pulling Sherlock up with him, “Come on, Olivia wants to make the towers like yesterday, and I don’t have a bloody clue how to make them!”

They spent the entire morning finishing their castle, and by the time Olivia remembered she had been promised an ice cream, it was past noon already. They walked back home, John using the leftovers from the day before for lunch and Olivia spent the entire time explaining how she was going to build very high walls around her castle so the sea wouldn’t take it away this time. But once she had her ice cream in hand, all thought of sand and castles were long forgotten, and they all agreed to walk into town and buy groceries for the rest of the week.

Sherlock followed silently, listening absently to Olivia and John talking about the few tourists around them. He wondered once more what his gift would be. Olivia was now old enough to choose her own gift, and Sherlock found he could barely wait to discover what she had gotten for him. Surely John would have followed any of her ideas (as long as they were achievable), and the thought made Sherlock bite his lower lip. He strangely felt shy about the whole thing.

Olivia was a complete mystery, one he was understanding more and more every day. She had become so much, everything really, so quickly that it still scared him. Today, he would know how his own daughter saw him, what she thought he would like. An insight into this little brain which kept on growing and growing.

“Love, what do you think?”

“Say yes, Daddy, please!”

Sherlock frowned, “Yes to what?”

Olivia pointed to the carousel in front of them, practically jumping on her feet with excitement, “Please, Daddy!”

Sherlock looked up to John who only shrugged with a smile, before looking back at her, “Alright, but only one round.”

Olivia took off, running to the carousel as John took his hand, “You weren’t listening to a thing we said. 

Sherlock squeezed his hand, “I really, really want to have my present, that’s all.”

John brushed their shoulders together, “Don’t worry, love, you’ll love it.”

“Or you could tell me what is it now,” Sherlock offered, laughing as John rolled his eyes, before going to find Olivia by one of the horses. “Come on, little bee.”

“Thanks Daddy,” she smiled as he picked her up so she could settle on the horse.

“Hold on tight,” Sherlock said before stepping off and went to sit next to John on one of the benches.

Olivia ended up doing three rounds, waving at them each time she passed in front of them, and Sherlock held on tight to John’s hand in his. “I love you,” he whispered when he saw John make funny faces at Olivia each time she was close enough to see them.

John shifted closer, his thumbs stroking his palm slowly, “Good birthday, then?”

“Very good birthday,” Sherlock replied with a smile.

John leant closer, “And you haven’t seen my very own, special, present yet." 

Sherlock felt his heartbeat quicken, a familiar warmth spreading throughout his chest, “I cannot wait to unwrap it.”

John laughed and Sherlock hurried to kiss the sound away, the two of them kissing for long seconds before Olivia’s voice brought them appart, “Papa! Daddy! Look!”

They both turned to watch Olivia pass, waving and smiling, and Sherlock breathed everything in.

They didn’t linger at the grocery store, John going through the aisles efficiently while Sherlock made sure Olivia wasn’t putting everything she saw in their trolley. They made it home just before six p.m and Olivia went immediately to search for one of her books, sitting at the table outside next to John who was already typing on his computer. Sherlock took advantage of this moment to note down the details of the experiment he wanted to conduct once they got back, and when he finally looked up from his notebook, he found John and Olivia standing in front of him.

“What happened?”

John smiled, “It’s time for your gift.”

“Yes, Daddy, your present!”

Sherlock sat up straighter, feeling much more nervous all the sudden as he observed the package in Olivia’s hands. A book. It looked like a book.

“Come on, sweetheart, give it to him before your Daddy figures out what it is,” John said, pushing Olivia toward him.

She handed him the gift and Sherlock shifted so she could sit next to him, “Open it, Daddy!”

Almost reverently, Sherlock tore away the gift wrap until there was a homemade book in his hands. He stared as the cover, recognizing immediately one of Olivia’s drawings, three bees to be exact, and the title in shining letters, “The little bee,” he read.

“Olivia insisted she wanted to write you a story,” John said, stepping closer. “She told me she wanted to make a book.”

“Like Papa,” Olivia added.

“Yes, like the one I write, except she wanted to write a story about us,” John continued. “So I offered her my help, writing down her story and she illustrated the entire book.”

Sherlock traced the three bees on the cover with the tips of his finger and soon Olivia’s own little hand was following his movement,s “That bee is you, that bee is Papa and that little bee is me,” she explained seriously.

“Sweetheart, do you want to read your story to Daddy?”

Olivia nodded eagerly, “Yes!” She took the book from Sherlock’s hand and placed it on her lap. “Papa, sit down.”

Sherlock looked up as John came to sit next to him on the deck chair, and he took his hand again, holding on tightly. Forcing himself to regain some composure, Sherlock looked back at Olivia just as she was opening the book.

“This is the story of a tall bee. The tall bee was very beautiful and worked as a detective,” she stopped, showing Sherlock the drawing of a bee with dark hair and what seemed to be a coat. She turned the page. “There is also another beautiful bee, a doctor that help lots and lots of other bees.” Sherlock couldn’t repress a laugh as he recognized one of John’s jumpers on the bee. “One day the two bees fell in love and they decided to have a little bee.” Olivia showed him proudly the drawing of a smaller bee with several books next to her, floating in the air. “The three bees live in a beautiful apartment with a skull, a kitchen and a microscope. The three bees love each other very much. The end!”

The last drawing was one of three bees in the middle of a kitchen, a skull and a microscope drawn as well as a four-year-old can draw them on the table, with hearts all around. Sherlock stared and stared and let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, unable to stop himself.

“Sweetheart, I think Daddy loves your gift very much,” John said, sliding one arm around his back and kissing his temple.

Olivia put back the book on Sherlock’s lap, kneeling beside him, “Do you, Daddy?”

“Yes, very much, little bee,” Sherlock smiled, taking her in his arms.

Olivia kissed his cheek, laughing, and Sherlock took a moment to breathe her in.

“What about dinner and a movie tonight?” John offered, Olivia starting to wiggle out of Sherlock’s ams immediately.

“Can I choose?”

“Yes, go ahead,” John replied, and she ran off inside the house.

They remained silent for long seconds before Sherlock breathed out a weak, “John.”

“I told you,” John smiled, “you would like it.”

Sherlock stared down at the cover again.

“These are her own words, I only typed them and corrected the sentences,” John said.

“She’s brilliant, isn’t she?”

John kissed him softly, “She has a good model to look up to.”

“Models,” Sherlock corrected him before sealing their lips again.

“Papa, Daddy! I have found the movie!”

“Join us soon, ok?” John whispered against his lips before standing up and joining Olivia inside.

Sherlock looked back down at the book on his lap, taking the time to read it one, two, three more times before getting to his feet. He walked to the house, his gift pressed against his chest.

He wasn’t ready to let go of it. Not yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comment are really appreciated :)
> 
> [I do fic commission now](http://johnlockfulfillment.tumblr.com/tagged/fic-commission)


End file.
